It is quite clear that most organizations do not produce good leaders. The leadership crisis is openly and widely discussed in many circles, and has been for quite some time. Nonetheless, there is still an outcry over the lack of quality leaders and those who demonstrate leadership capability. Unfortunately, the way we have structured our organizations may very well be the reason we don’t create good leaders in the first place.
Consider the typical organizational chart. It is arranged hierarchically, with a pyramidal structure to show who leads which organization, and what the reporting relationships are. For each person who has some group reporting to him or her on the organization chart, there is an element of leadership required. Each person with authority over some group expected to lead that group to meet or exceed performance objectives and provide customer deliverables.
Those who are put into leadership positions within the traditional hierarchy are not expected to lead teams. They are expected, however, to implement the decisions of those above them in the organization chart. For each and every leader on the organization chart, following is much more important than leading. When managers decide not to follow the directions given to them, they risk losing their jobs. When the same managers fail to successfully engage subordinates and drive them to high levels of achievement, the penalty is usually much less severe if one exists at all. As a result, the “leadership” ranks are filled with those who are very good at following.
Paradoxical, you say? Indeed. 
Most organizations are much like a team of horses pulling a coach. If there are 6 horses, lined up in pairs, we have horse A, B, C, D, E and F from front to back. Clearly, A is a leader because he’s demonstrated he’s very good at doing what the driver wants, so Horse A gets to walk in front and lead the other horses who are less reliable. Horse C, however, has horse E and F, and the driver, and the stagecoach behind him, so clearly, he’s achieved a level of leadership, too even though he walks in the middle. The coach driver is a leader, as he has the vision to see the entire organization and drives the team. The passenger in the coach who hired this team for transport, however, is the REAL Leader because he funded the trip, hired the crew, and determined the destination and set a deadline for reaching their objective. So, clearly, since everyone is in front of him and he’s the one who started this whole thing, he’s the leader.
Fact of the matter is, not one of these people needs to demonstrate much “leadership skill” in their position. Each of them is just doing their job, which is carrying out the orders of someone else, which is not leading. The system itself reinforces the necessary relationships for the accomplishment of work. More than exercises in leadership, what we are seeing is each individual performing a required role. If the system is working well, the capabilities of the individual will align with task to be performed (if we asked the horse to drive the stagecoach, it probably wouldn’t be long before we realized horses aren’t very good at that, for example, and we’d naturally find someone better at the job, of course).
This community of collaborators is proving itself to be a powerful force in an increasingly interconnected world. In order for such a community to function, however, elements of genuine leadership are required. Fortunately, there is an evolving organizational model that will allow true leaders to emerge, at any instant, when they are needed.
From Jon Husband at wirearchy.com:
What Is Wirearchy ?
We all know and understand hierarchy – the enduring principle of the institutions that govern us and in which we work and live. The people at the top of the institutions control the agendas and make the decisions, which are then “pushed” out and down to be executed, implemented, followed.
That’s changing.
This “wired” environment provides the conditions for a dramatic re-making of power relationships built on information and knowledge. Via networks, we are all making a transition to an environment in which championing ideas and then channeling and coordinating resources in order to achieve objectives are becoming the most effective means of increasing productivity and effectiveness.
A major shift in the ways activities are planned and managed is occurring in many spheres of human activity, from command-and-control to coordinate-and-channel. When customers have more power and employees want to communicate and be heard, the dynamics have to change.
A new organizing principle is emerging, called Wirearchy. The working definition of wirearchy is:
a dynamic two-way flow of power and authority based on information, knowledge, trust and credibility, enabled by interconnected people and technology
- A new organizing principle that requires genuine leadership, at times, from everyone, when needed.
Wirearchy is not the end of leadership. Individual leadership, as it is frequently discussed, has been elusive because the existing structures simply don’t require, actively support, or depend upon it. Leaders will emerge organically in wirearchies based on their individual attributes, forming critical nodes in the overall network as needed. People will follow these leaders because they want to, not because they have to.
As people become more interconnected, membership in organizations will become more fluid, temporary and voluntary. In such organizations, the presence of genuine leadership based on expertise and utility, rather than on systemic rigidity, will be necessary. As traditional means of communication accelerate, we must also develop new organizational models to accommodate it, which will also require new conceptions of leadership.
[...] Enabling Genuine Leadership: Hierarchy to Wirearchy » My Flexible … [...]
Good context and example, and your basic interpretative argument is very well put.
Jon,
Thanks so much for stopping by! I am very much intrigued by your work on Wirearchy and look forward to your future work. I think we are at the beginning of an organizational evolution, and there’s a great deal to be said for your approach.
Thanks again!
Great post David – I enjoyed reading it. I do think that some organizations just don’t know how to produce good leaders – or even what a “good leader” is. Which is unfortunate. I certainly think, given today’s economic situation, those who are true leaders – can get their organization through the tough times in a way that is fair for all and can continue to ensure good morale and engage their employees, etc. – have stood out. Many more leaders have shown their true colors. One thing we use frequently with clients is assessments to identify leadership skills (or lack thereof) in the context of the organization. I mention this because in some situations we have found that the individual leader frankly could be quite good, unfortunately he/she is working in an environment that is not conducive to his/her style and abilities. So, for example, a leader who functions best in an environment that is quite structured and finds him/herself in an environment that has constant movement and fluidity.
Your point about some individuals who don’t need to demonstrate leadership skill because they are following someone else’s directions is well taken; however, I believe you will find those individuals who have strong ledadership ability do not just follow blindly and their abilities/capabilities are clear.
Thanks again – I enjoyed reading the post!
Best regards,
Gina
Hi, Gina. Thanks so much for good food for thought! I especially enjoyed the challenge in your 2nd paragraph – ideas are made stronger when they are tested. My take-away from your comments is that the hierarchical organization, while capable of producing leaders, is also capable of squandering the development of capable leaders.
It will be interesting to observe whether or not wirearchies can overcome this situation by removing the structural/environmental conditions by which good leaders are squelched. Anotehr idea that will be interesting to test is whether or not those who are able to demonstrate strong, positive leadership in a hierarchy will also be able to lead in a wirearchy.
David,
I have this nagging thought that maybe Leadership is a concept not even applicable to business at all . Leadership implies a follower and a leader , hence a certain belief or creed would be involved . Therefore Leadership in my view applies to aspects of human life starting with religion and then politics..etc . Making a living requires much less leadership if any , but then that is just my own background speaking maybe .
Thanks
Thanks for your comment! While the situations that the military, religion and political leaders face are often extreme and dire, there’s still somethings required of business leaders. It would be hard to imagine building a 757 or an ocean liner via a wirearchical approach, however, in most office situations I think we agree — the role of Leadership often does more to prevent work from getting done than enabling it.
Very good post, David and fitting with the historical events going on around the world. Wirearchy concept reflects genius of John Husband who coined the term way back in 1999.
I would like to comment just on one thing, the article says in parantheses:
“if we asked the horse to drive the stagecoach, it probably wouldn’t be long before we realized horses aren’t very good at that…”,
of course coach horses can not learn to drive the coach immediately, but on the contrary some horses are! good at leading. Their knowledge of routes and routing, their sense of timing and rythm, sensing risk and danger are far better than humans. A horse would learn to lead the coach much better than a human could.
Everyone has heard of horses saving the rider when injured or not only knowing the way to home but also having a 4 dimensional sense of orientation and timing.
We tame the horses to be coach pullers, killing the real natural treasure in these animals. In a way this is also in line with the general theme of the article, if the sentence is corrected as “..coach horses arent good at that…”
Bet regards,
Zirek
A very interesting note! I have to wonder, however, do these remarkable horses truly have a genuine instinct all their own, or have they simply mastered what they have been taught? Perhaps it is a little bit of both.